When is a booster okay? need help figuring out seats for 4yo & 6yo.

[celestialdreamer]

Okay so here are our stats:
Vehicle- 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan
DD age 6 1/2 years, average height, long torso, 46 lbs. - Britax Regent
DS1 age 4 1/2 years, average height, somewhat long torso, 39lbs. - Britax Boulevard
DS2 age 2 1/2 years, short but 30 lbs - Britax Boulevard
DS3 age 10 months, 90th percentile height, 17.5 lbs - Graco Safeseat

The 4yo is on the max harness height because of his somewhat long torso and the 6yo seems ready for a high back booster instead of a harness. I would just pass along the Regent to the 4yo, but it is a floral girly print and frankly that seat is giant. I would like to pass along the 4yo's Boulevard to the baby (RFing of course) so both the little guys would be in the Boulevards. This means the older 2 need new seats and I am wondering if putting them both in high back boosters would be okay? The 4 1/2 yo seems mature enough for it or I wouldn't consider it.

So if this is okay to put them in boosters, I would love suggestions. I would really love something that is not so giant like the Regent, but with a tall height (because of long torsos) that will last until they are out of seats. Are there any that might fit 3 across ( with a narrow convertible as the 3rd) in case we decide to ever need to put 3 kids in the back row? I don't know if we will have any more kids, but if we did, replacing the van would not be an option. It would be nice to possibly have the option to put the older 3 in the back row to have room for another passenger in the middle row ( one of the grandmas, a friend, etc). That would assume we eventually replaced ds2's boulevard with something like a Radian maybe? It would be down the road if/ when the 2 yo got a different seat, but it seems like it would be smart to buy the two older kids seats that would work for that idea if we ever needed it.

Thanks for any help!

[WindyCityMom]

NAK so real quick...

Is your 2yo FFing or RFing?

I would personally put the 6yo in a HBB if she can sit properly for the entire ride, and if the seatbelt fits properly. I'd pass the regent onto the 4yo, you can find replacement covers for it. I know that car-seat.org has a swap and there's always a regent cover f/s on there. I believe most boosters require a child to be 40lbs, and he's not there yet. I don't know that a 4yo would be mature enough to sit properly in a booster either, but you'd need to check that out yourself.

If you need to do a 3-across and need a slim seat to do so, check out the Sunshine Kids Radians

[LynnS6]

I think the 6 year old can easily go in a HBB -- we love ours.

The 4 yo I'd prefer to keep in a 5 pt harness for awhile because I don't think they can sit properly long enough. Can you buy a new cover for the Regent?

[DahliaRW]

The 6yo should be fine in a booster as long as she can sit properly. Same with teh 4 1/2 yo (though many on here will tell you they prefer kids to be 5-6 before moving to a booster, I personally side with the Swedes and my oldest was in a booster around 4 1/2, and he sat properly all the time). Since your 4 1/2 yo is not qutie 40lbs, you want a booster rated below 40lbs, such as the turbobooster.

If you want to keep the 4yo harnessed, the only other seat with the height of the regent is the Britax Frontier85. The Graco Nautilus and Evenflo Maestro has a harness height of 18" (the regent is 21" I believe). Of those, the Maestro is the narrowest. Or you could get a new cover for the regent.

[chickabiddy]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom

I believe most boosters require a child to be 40lbs, and he's not there yet. I don't know that a 4yo would be mature enough to sit properly in a booster either, but you'd need to check that out yourself.

No, most highbacked boosters have a 30# minimum. However, I would prefer to see a 4yo harnessed. The Evenflo Maestro is narrow, inexpensive, and accommodates tall torsos nicely.

I'd be fine with the 6yo in a highbacked booster.

[WindyCityMom]

Originally Posted by chickabiddy

No, most highbacked boosters have a 30# minimum. However, I would prefer to see a 4yo harnessed. The Evenflo Maestro is narrow, inexpensive, and accommodates tall torsos nicely.

I'd be fine with the 6yo in a highbacked booster.

wow! I can't imagine putting my 30lb almost 3yo in a HBB. I know that I wouldn't but knowing that there are people who would.. woah.

[chickabiddy]

I wouldn't either, but I know 35# 6yos who are in boosters and I have no issue with that at all.

[leighi123]

Read this:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=38893

It has the 'checklist' for going from a 5-pt to a booster

[TheGirls]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom

wow! I can't imagine putting my 30lb almost 3yo in a HBB. I know that I wouldn't but knowing that there are people who would.. woah.

One of DD's little friends is a 30lb almost 3yo and in a HBB, where her mom puts the shoulder belt behind her. Just learned this yesterday. My own 30lb 2yo will be RF for awhile yet, but if I had a 35-40lb 6yo, those 30lb weight limits would be nice...

[celestialdreamer]

No the 2 1/2 yo is not RFing. No flames please. We turned him a couple months ago after listening to him scream the entire ride in the car for months. We tried putting him in different seat placements, toys, snacks, etc but it did not help. I feel that we are safer without a driver listening to the tantrums. I definitely believe in RFing until at least age 2 though.

I think I will just keep the 4 1/2 yo in his Boulevard until he outgrows it. He's actually on steroids to suppress his immune system which may prevent him from growing very quickly anyway. I will get dd a HBB (recommendations??) and hold on to the Regent. This way if ds 1 needs a new seat before he is ready for a HBB he can just ride in the floral Regent for a couple months lol. Hopefully he will be around 5 yo and over 40lbs by that time, plus it gives more time to make sure he is mature enough. I will not be buying a cover for the Regent as I would rather put that $ towards a HBB that he likely will be ready for in about 6 months. I don't lime the size of the Regent and don't plan to keep it after the older 2 are in HBB. The baby is fitting fine in his Safeseat right now so he should be able to wait until the Boulevard from ds1 is available. So I will just get only dd a HBB and save up for one for ds1 when he is ready, which would be easier financially as well.

So what is a good HBB for my dd? Something safe with a narrow seat base would be great. Cupholders, etc aren't needed, just safe with good EPS foam.

[blessedwithboys]

OT, but what's wrong with a pink floral carseat for a boy? *scratches head*

[celestialdreamer]

Originally Posted by blessedwithboys

OT, but what's wrong with a pink floral carseat for a boy? *scratches head*

I understand where you are coming from and if he doesn't mind, he can ride in it until he's ready for a booster. He doesn't tend to usually want florals though so I am going to respect that. He does love picking flowers though actually. I thought it was the cutest thing this summer when he asked the much older neighbor's son if he wanted to pick flowers with him. He's not anti-flowers or anything, but a feminine print is not my first choice for him as he tends to like more typical " boy" stuff. It would not be an issue here if he decided he wanted something that is typical "girly" stuff either.

My toddler son's favorite color is pink right now actually.

[goodheartedmama]

DS (who is 4.5 and in a booster now, but is extremely large and very mature for his age) rode in a floral regent for almost 2 years. He always loved it, and was actually sad when I gave the cover away.